A thorough search for cloud-based veterinary software involves many stages.
Among those stages, you need to look at what your current practice management system can and can’t do, then research how cloud-based software will be able to resolve those functional gaps and improve your daily workflows. And once you’ve gathered all the information, it’s time to take that cloud-based solution for a spin.
The software demo is your chance to learn about the product’s core functionality and to see up close how well it addresses your needs. Vendors (typically a salesperson and a product specialist) will be eager to sell you on the key benefits of their solution, but this is a great opportunity for you to maintain an upper hand in the conversation and get the most value out of the experience. It takes being prepared.
In this article, we’ll walk you through a typical veterinary software demo experience, from start to finish, providing you with the questions and talking points to keep handy, including:
The work you put into understanding your software challenges, as well as your motivations for switching to a cloud-based system, will best position you for a worthwhile demo experience – both for you and the software provider. In other words: the better you can express your own needs, the better the demo can be tailored to suit you.
At the beginning of a demo, expect the vendor to ask you a series of general “discovery” questions, which may include:
Vendors will want to know more about why your current system is (or isn’t) working well:
As the conversation progresses, expect the vendor to pivot to exploring how their solution can help:
Between learning about your challenges and giving you a tour of their software, the vendor has a lot to cover in the hour or so that a demo call typically lasts. But remember: this is your demo, and it’s up to you to gather as much information as possible about the solution and determine if it’s the right fit for your practice.
Some questions to keep handy that may not have been answered before or during the demo:
⭐ There’s no such thing as a dumb question. The vendor knows their product better than anyone else, and they want to show it off. During the demo, don’t be afraid to interrupt and ask them to go more slowly, repeat an explanation, or provide more details about the features. And tell them if something doesn’t make sense!
Once the demo concludes, you have a lot to digest, and you should take a few minutes to reflect. Ask yourself some of the following questions – and we encourage you to jot down your answers. After several demos with different software vendors, you’ll be glad to have notes that summarize each experience.